"Many women discontinue their medication when they’re contemplating pregnancy or when they are pregnant," says Kimberly Ann Yonkers, MD, professor of psychiatry, of epidemiology and of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Yale University. But stopping treatment may also put them at risk of contending with unmanaged symptoms. "They can feel like they’re between a rock and a hard place," she adds.

Now, a study published in JAMA Pediatrics raises questions about antidepressants’ effect on fetal brain changes. However, if you're taking antidepressants and trying to conceive, you don't have to quit taking your meds. Here’s what to know.

What the Study Looked At

A group of researchers lead by Claudia Lugo-Candelas, a post-doctoral research fellow at Columbia University, took pictures of the brains of 98 babies about a month after they were born. Some of the newborns’ moms were being treated with SSRIs for depression, while some had depression but were not being treated and others were not affected by depression.

What the Study Found

When compared to the babies whose moms were not taking antidepressants or suffering from depression, the babies whose moms were taking SSRIs showed greater brain volumes in the amygdala and insular cortex, areas associated with mood, strong emotions like fear and motivation, as well as the processing of emotions. They also showed higher connections between these regions.

That said, researchers point out that it’s unclear what the greater volumes of cells and connections means exactly. However, TIME.com points out that in related research, older children and adults with anxiety disorders and depression showed similar increases in so-called grey matter volume in these emotional centers, as well as increased connections between nerve cells populating these areas. At the same time, the brain chemical serotonin, which is involved in mood regulation, can affect amygdala development, as well.

But further research will be required to know exactly how SSRIs affect a child’s brain development, specifically how they respond to serotonin.

What This Means for Parents

This study adds to a growing body of research and ongoing conversation around the effect of antidepressants on babies in utero. However, there’s still much that we don’t know. Based on this study and others, researchers can’t draw any definitive conclusions as to whether or not pregnant women who are taking SSRIs will have a baby with anxiety disorders and depression. And Lugo-Candelas says all of the babies who were born to the moms prescribed these drugs were healthy at birth.

The most important takeaway is that if you’re trying to conceive or expecting and also treating depression, there’s no reason that you have to stop taking your meds. But if you’re worried about this study, your best bet is to talk to your health care providers — from your psychiatrist to your OB-GYN — about setting up an individualized treatment plan. (It’s particularly important that you talk to your doctors before stopping any medication.) Whatever that plan looks like — continuing your meds, cutting back on the dose, stopping altogether and trying other methods — they’ll help you to make sure that it’s safe for you and your baby.